The present invention relates to devices for creating special effects and, more particularly, to a device for producing artificial rain in droplet form.
For many years, the use of special effects in the movie and entertainment industry has been extremely important in simulating realistic situations and occurrences for the audience. Special effects also have enjoyed a wide application in the amusement park and theme park business, in which guests are exposed to the simulated effects of fire or rain, for example, while sitting in a theatre or while being transported in a ride vehicle through an attraction.
Problems have existed in the past in producing the special effect of artificial rain, especially in theme parks. Several constraints exist. For example, in producing the rain, it is highly desirable to use real water to achieve the most realistic effect. When using real water, however, the water must be controlled and contained adequately since it is being used in a dry setting. Another consideration which applies in the case of theme park installations, is the need to operate the rain producing device for up to 10-12 hours per day every day of the year, while taking into account that the device probably will be turned on and off several times a day and, in some cases, over one hundred times per day. In these situations, it is imperative that the device be relatively maintenance free and reliable in use.
Over the years, various devices have been developed for producing artificial rain for use in dry settings. The majority of such devices include a number of tiny nozzles that emit streams of water to simulate the effect of real rain. Since these nozzles emit the water in streams, rather than in droplet form like real rain, it is difficult for them to closely simulate the natural look of real rain. In order to solve this problem, extremely small nozzle orifices typically are used so as to produce the thinnest possible individual streams of water. Unfortunately, the small nozzle orifices are highly susceptible to clogging from minerals, dirt and other impurities in the water. Moreover, they still do not produce droplets like real rain.
As an alternative to using nozzles with small orifices, nozzles with larger orifices that are not as prone to clogging have been used. However, this type of device typically employs a large overhead reservoir for supplying water to the nozzles. The device highly depends on the water level in the reservoir and mini-wave action to accurately control the output of water from the nozzles. This makes the reliability of the water output from the nozzles extremely sensitive to leveling. More significantly, however, the device tends to emit unnatural looking streams of water to simulate the effect of rain, rather than producing more realistic looking droplets of water.
Accordingly, there has existed a definite need for a device for creating artificial rain that falls in droplet form like real rain. There further has existed a need for a device that can be rapidly activated and deactivated numerous times per day in an efficient and reliable manner and without significant maintenance. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides further related advantages.